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The auction for airwaves capable of carrying 4G mobile broadband services in the U.K. has started under the auspices of telecoms regulator Ofcom. The process is expected to take several weeks, with no further information released before completion. Operators are expected roll out services in the late spring and early summer.

Ofcom is using a format known as the “combinatorial clock” auction. It intends to ensure that there are at least four 4G wholesalers. There is a press release describing the process here. The bidders will be competing for 28 lots of spectrum in two bands, explains ZDNet.

The U.K. telecoms regulator Ofcom published Thursday proposals for how so-called “white space”, frequency gaps opened up when old analog TV was switched off, will operate. It could herald the next phase of the internet, a place where machines talk to machines.

The Internet of Things describes the prospect that in a decade or so the number of internet connected devices could be as high as 50 billion; mostly comprising remote sensors monitoring a simple thing, like stresses in a bridge, or how many cans of drink are left in a vending machine.

But how will all these devices relay their information back? Radio frequency spectrum is scarce, valuable, and under a lot of pressure. The laws of physics being what they are, there isn’t any more so ways have to be found to make the maximum use of what there is.

The U.K. is the best placed country in Europe to exploit the next wave of mobile Internet, according to research from the country’s telecom regulator.

In a detailed report from Ofcom says a highly competitive market coupled with high smartphone penetration and a willingness for U.K. Internet users to embrace e-commerce puts the country in a leading position.

According to James Thickett, director of research, 79% of U.K. Internet users said they had ordered goods online, higher than any other European country. Not only were U.K. consumers more likely to visit retail sites than other Europeans, but they also spent more time on them than other European shoppers.

“The U.K. is using the mobile Internet in a way that other European countries are not,” said Mr. Thickett.

Most of the media attention on the Communications Market Report from U.K. media regulator Ofcom has focused on the perhaps not unsurprising revelation that teenagers are both more likely to own a smartphone and to be annoying. They are also, along with a large part of the British population, “addicted” to their smartpones.

But there is rather more of interest in the 341 page report than many headlines suggest. Take the changes in consumer behavior: “2010 saw a large migration of customers from pre-pay to contract mobile phone services. At the end of 2010, nearly half (49%) of mobile subscriptions were contract, compared to 41% a year previously.”

This is likely to be, in part, a reflection of the move to more expensive handsets which are too expensive for many consumers to buy in a single pay-as-you-go transaction. But that also means they will have to wait until the end of a contract before changing phones.

The report continues: “Total U.K. broadband take-up increased by three percentage points to 74% by Q1 2011.” But, despite this growth: “Total telecoms revenues fell by 2% in 2010. Mobile revenues increased slightly (up one per cent), but fixed voice and broadband revenues continued to decline (down three per cent and six per cent respectively).”

The head of the U.K. telecoms regulator Wednesday suggested it may liberate radio spectrum that will be freed up following a future switch over to digital radio.

In much the same way that Ofcom has proposed using frequencies made available through the switch over from analog to digital TV, the same sort of idea is being proposed with FM radio frequencies as the country moves to Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB).

A statement released by Ofcom said Chief Executive Ed Richards told the Radio Centre members’ conference today: “Spectrum is a resource that is in huge demand, fueled by the recent explosion in smart phones and other wireless technologies. However there is only a limited amount of it to go around, which means we need to start thinking more creatively about how it is used. White Space Devices could offer the creative solution we are looking for.”

Mr. Richards was reported as saying that as much as 50% of the capacity currently used to deliver FM radio services could be freed up.

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